ADELANTO >> Citing a burden on a town already financially troubled, city officials want to evict the minor league baseball team, the High Desert Mavericks, from playing here.

“The Mavericks have given no accurate accounting of revenues owed to the city, which they have generated from facility parking lots and facility conference room. This was supposed to be a self-sufficient enterprise. However, the burden continues to fall on the Adelanto taxpayers — not the High Desert Mavericks,” Mayor Rich Kerr said in a news release Friday.

The Mavericks are part of the Texas Rangers’ organization.

“The city of Adelanto declared a fiscal crisis in 2013 and is still not in a position to continue to assume financial responsibility to pay for water, gas, electricity, landscaping and maintenance for the stadium the next seven months to accommodate the team’s schedule,” Kerr said.

The city gave the parent company of the Mavericks, Main Street California LLC, notice to vacate the publicly owned stadium Dec. 18, the release states.

Mavericks General Manager Ben Hemmen said in a phone call Friday that all communication about the legal battle must go through Main Street California. Several attempts for comment from the parent company went unanswered.

Adelanto city officials contend the Mavericks’ continued use and occupancy of the stadium is in bad faith, the statement says.

The Mavericks have five days to respond to the complaint, Kerr said in the statement.

Baseball season is just three weeks away with the opening day scheduled for April 7 against the Inland Empire 66ers, but baseball here may be a thing of the past if the city wins the court battle.

“Filing the unlawful detainer separate from public use facilities agreement issue will expedite resolution of the matter and determine once and for all if the team will play the 2016 season in Adelanto,” the city stated in the release.

Doug has covered crime and public safety in the Inland Empire since first becoming a reporter in 2012. With a long standing military background, Doug naturally heads into volatile situations in order to gather intelligence for those who rely on accurate and up-to-date information. Doug, a former combat Army veteran, attended the Defense Information School. At DINFOS, the United States Military school of journalism at Ft. Meade, MD, Doug learned all aspects of journalism before taking on a role as an Army Public Affairs Specialist for 16 months prior to his employment with the Southern California News Group. Doug is an avid outdoorsman who loves camping on the beach, but he's also a giant "Star Wars" fan.